The Real State of Rural Pennsylvania

With the Whole Nation Watching—and the Future Hanging in the Balance—Small-Town Pennsylvania, More than Ever, Needs a Comprehensive Plan for Sustained Economic Prosperity

Rural Pennsylvania has rarely held the attention of national leaders or been the topic of national headlines. But all that changed in the run-up to this year’s presidential primary, when debate centered on small-town PA residents and their response to three decades of manufacturing job loss and unkept promises to bring jobs back.

Is the economy of small-town and rural Pennsylvania depressed? Is there a realistic hope for prosperity and for the middle class in rural PA?

There are no simple answers, say economists at the Keystone Research Center. The reality of rural Pennsylvania is richer than the cartoon drawn by the national media, and potentially much more promising—if state and federal policies provide the support so far lacking.

In the updated State of Rural Pennsylvania, KRC economists Mark Price and Stephen Herzenberg take a close look at the 48 of 67 counties in the commonwealth that are classified as “rural,” using the current definition from The Center for Rural Pennsylvania. Home to almost 30 percent of Pennsylvania’s total population, rural counties are complex, the report finds, and there is both good news and bad news.

read more

New ResearcH

African-American Pay Boosted by Union Membership

A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research analyzing data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS), found that unionization raises the pay of African-American workers by about $2.00 per hour. According to the report, black workers in unions are also 16 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 19 percentage points more likely to have an employer-provided pension plan than black workers who are not in unions.

read more | CEPR PAPER

KRC IN THE NEWS

KRC Analysis of Economic Proposals Featured in Harrisburg Patriot-News

Stephen Herzenberg's analysis of the economic proposals of Democratic and Republican presidential primary candidates was featured in the Harrisburg Patriot News on Sunday, March 30. "At the moment, neither Obama nor Clinton has adequately reframed the discussion around economic policy," Herzenberg said.

read the story | download

Recently Published KRC Research

A The State of Rural Pennsylvania, reviews a decade of economic changes in the rural part of Pennsylvania and details the region's current economic condition in 2008.

Building Storm: The Housing Market and the Pennsylvania Economy, shows that while the Commonwealth has escaped some of the huge housing-related troubles that have struck neighboring states, Pennsylvania residents should not be lured into a false sense of security.

The State of Working Pennsylvania 2007. KRC's eleventh annual review of the economic condition of Pennsylvania's middle class that the health of the Pennsylvania economy from their point of view.

Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education a national study of the declining qualifications of early childhood educators with companion reports for California, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.

KRC Activities and Press Coverage

Stephen Herzenberg appeared on WITF Harrisburgh's Smart Talk Program to discuss The State of Rural Pennsylvania on May 29, 2008.

Stephen Herzenberg was interviewed about the economic proposals of the leading presidential candidates by the Harrisburg Patriot-News for an article appearing on March 30, 2008.

Stephen Herzenberg appeared on WITF's Smart Talk and addressed various economic issues confronting Pennsylvania.

Stephen Herzenberg appeared as a guest on WKOK radio's Leaders and Lawmakers program in Sunbury. Listen to the segment in .mp3 format.

Stephen Herzenberg spoke before the Central Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce on The State of Rural Pennsylvania in Shamokin Dam.

Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg was a guest on PCN-TV's PCN Call-In. He debated the merits of raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage with Kevin Shivers, State Director of National Federation of Independent Businesses. The program featured a number of KRC-prepared charts on the minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

Mark Price presented the findings of Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education in Pennsylvania to the "Success by Six" group of the Carlisle United Way.

Mark Price was a guest on Business Matters, a weekly show produced by WFMZ channel 69 in Allentown. Mark discussed the merits of raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage.

Price also appeared on WBAI-FM's live call-in show Talk Back. The New York City station's program discussed KRC's recent national Losing Ground release. Mark was also interviewed on 580-AM in Topeka Kansas about Losing Ground.

The KRC-authored national report on the declining qualifications of early childhood educators, Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education, has received press attention around the county. The study was the subject of articles in the Bergen County (New Jersey) Record, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the New Mexico Business Weekly. The Losing Ground study was co-released with the Economic Policy Institute and the Foundation for Child Development and is available from www.earlychildhoodworkforce.com.

KRC's Losing Ground in Pennsylvania Early Childhood Education report was the subject of a report on Harrisburg's WHTM-TV Channel 27 during its News at 6 program in September, 2005. It has also been the subject of newspaper article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The video is available as a KRC video podcast.

KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg testified before the Pennsylvania Senate Labor and Industry Committee at its minimum wage hearing at the Temple Street Center in Philadelphia. His testimony is available online.

KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg was interviewed in September 2005 on KQV radio in Pittsburgh about The State of Working Pennsylvania 2005 and proposals to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage.

KRC Executive Director Stephen Herzenberg was recently a guest on WHYY Philadelphia's Radio Times program to debate proposals to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage with chair of the state's National Federation of Independent Businesses. This program is available as a KRC podcast.